FDA must act to remove antibiotics from animal feed: judge

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday
ordered U.S. regulators to start proceedings to withdraw
approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed,
citing concerns that overuse is endangering human health by
creating antibiotic-resistant "superbugs".

U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore Katz ordered the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration to begin proceedings unless makers of
the drugs can produce evidence that their use is safe.

If they can't, then the FDA must withdraw approval for
non-therapeutic use of those drugs, the judge ruled.

The FDA had started such proceedings in 1977, prompted by
its concerns the widespread use in livestock feed of certain
antibiotics - particularly tetracyclines and penicillin, the
most common. But the proceedings were never completed and the
approval remained in place.

"In the intervening years, the scientific evidence of the
risks to human health from the widespread use of antibiotics in
livestock has grown, and there is no evidence that the FDA has
changed its position that such uses are not shown to be safe,"
Katz wrote.

The lawsuit was filed by environmental and public-health
groups including The Natural Resources Defense Council, Center
for Science in the Public Interest and the Union of Concerned
Scientists in the Manhattan federal court in May.

The plaintiffs argued that using common antibiotics in
livestock feed has contributed to the rapid growth of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria in both animals and humans.

Antibiotic-resistant infections cost Americans more than $20
billion each year, the plaintiffs said, citing a 2009 study from
the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics and Cook County
Hospital.

In his ruling, Katz ordered the FDA to follow through on the
process it started in 1977 but only formally abandoned in
December last year. The FDA said the proceedings were outdated
and that it intended to pursue other regulatory strategies for
coping with potential food-safety problems.

"The FDA has not issued a single statement since the
issuance of the 1977 (notices) that undermines the original
findings that the drugs have not been shown to be safe," Katz
wrote.

The FDA could not be immediately reached for comment outside
regular business hours on Thursday.

The case is Natural Resources Defense Council et al. v. FDA,
in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New
York, no. 11-3562.
(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)